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Harper Brooks
"So you're that one Commonwealth type blondie was talkin' about?" "I suppose I am. Agent Harper Brooks, at your service. I know psionics, and I know social work. Rather bollocks-up combination, I know. In a brawl, I'd be inclined to say I'm more of a lover than a fighter, but I'm not actually the worst shot." -Harper Brooks introduces herself to Jonathon Rollins, moments before the [[MSS Polunochnaya|MSS Polunochnaya]]'' launches. Introduction '''Harper Brooks '''is an Ardavian special agent and psyker, working in the Commonwealth's intelligence services. A gifted psyker, soldier, and diplomat, Brooks is considered one of the CMIS' finest, and she holds a nice reputation within her ranks. Born the daughter of a prominent politician, however, her life was violently shaken when she was a young girl, and because of this, she maintains a personal pledge to help the distraught. It was for this reason that she decided to train to become a psychiatrist before her innate psychic prowess was discovered, leading her to join the military. Background Born in 2127 to the politician Jeremy Brooks and his wife Melissa (a Lieutenant in the LCF), Harper Brooks grew up in a good home with a loving family. However, in 2143, when Harper was 16 and in her first year of studying toward becoming a psychiatrist, her mother died in action during the Bush War. Without his beloved wife, her father soon slid into depression and alcoholism, a path which ended with the man committing suicide in 2145. Left without both her parents, Harper chose to abandon her psychiatry studies after her fourth year, instead heading into the Army at age 19 to go through mandatory basic training. While her personality turned out to be not particularly suited for the discipline and rigid structure of military life, she proved to be a talented shot, good in social situations, and following a mandatory scan, a psyker (which she had already suspected herself to be). While she left the army after finishing her compulsory service, she had already been scouted by the Military Intelligence Service and was approached soon afterward. She accepted this offer, and was soon inducted into the intelligence service. Sponsored by a higher-up in the Service as a promising asset, she was fast-tracked into field operations instead of being transferred into an intelligence analyst role or even becoming an interrogator (as most psykers of the telepathic school in MIS do). Trained by CSOCOM like all other field operators, Harper is an excellent shot (particularly with her customized L18 pistol), speaks a number of languages, and is as capable of surviving in the North American Outlands as on the "social battlefield" of international diplomacy. She is also one of the strongest psykers the Commonwealth has produced, certainly the strongest telepath, and has extensive practice in psychic interrogation. However, while her gift is strong, it is also hard to control, and being involuntarily scanned by her will in almost every case leave the victim a braindead wreck. She is barely capable of picking up surface thoughts without channelling enough power to inflict possibly-irreversible damage, however, and as such cannot use her powers for social interaction. Flight of the ''Polunochnaya With the existence of the Sidhae becoming common knowledge across the greater Solar System after the failed Sixteen July Pact, the governments of the world fought against a rising panic within their populations. The Ardavian Commonwealth, carrying intelligence that suggested their uneasy allies, the New Frenco Empire, had more intimate knowledge of the crisis, sent Harper to meet and perform an intel swap with IIA Chief Coordinator and Whip of Culture Jane Smyth. However, Harper arrived in the Empire several days before schedule...just prior to the secretive launch of the MSS Polunochnaya ''into the Sidh dimension, it's intent to capture and/or neutralize the rogue Judicator Alain, who had kidnapped the newborn children of Elena Trotskaya. Annoyed, Smyth pushed Harper aside to focus on her current project; Task Force Golf, a cell of four of her best IIA Field Agents (Jonathon Rollins, Hadrian Kelly, Darcy Lawrence, and Rachel Enns) that would be joining Trotskaya aboard her ship as a token of personal support from a "caring friend" and as a way of showing Frenkish solidarity against the Sidhae. However, Harper persisted on the urgent matter, further drawing Smyth's ire. Eventually, Smyth relented, and let Harper know that she had limited intel on the Sidh themselves. Instead, she was told that if she wanted the knowledge she desired, the only way she would be getting it is getting aboard the ''Polunochnaya ''with her team and offering whatever services she could to Trotskaya. But only within the next hour, which is when the ship was scheduled to warp off the planet. Distraught at the realization, Harper reluctantly decided to join Golf, recording a transmission to be sent back to her superiors after she had taken off. Aboard the ''Polunochnaya, Harper became acquainted with the Imperials she was working aside during the first few weeks of the deployment. She formed a quick friendship with fellow psyker Darcy Lawrence, with Harper helping Darcy with her notoriously bad soldiering skills, and Darcy helping Harper tap into psychic precognition abilities (precognition, or "future sight", being an especially rare trait within psionics, with Darcy being one of the few living psykers capable of harnessing that type of power). However, she became the most intrigued by the introverted Rachel Enns, whom she had only exchanged brief words with. Sensing how deeply troubled Rachel truly was, her nature as a psychological healer stepped in, and she found it a "duty" to give her another friend to lean on. After encouraging Rachel to open up to her on several occasions, Jon noted that Harper was "probably the only person Rachel smiled at first glance". While drinking with Jon, Rachel accidentally revealed to him that she was developing romantic feelings for Harper, but was sure that she wouldn't feel the same. After cursing herself for revealing her intimate thoughts, Rachel headed to bed, but Rollins called after her to "not be so sure". In an attempt to "see what happens", Jon sat down with Harper the next day, seemingly just wanting casual conversation. After Jon subtly brought up Harper's love life (asking if she had a husband or boyfriend), she corrected him, stating that she "batted for the other team", but otherwise, no, she didn't typically have time for such things. After inquiring about Rachel almost directly after the revelation, Jon could easily read that Harper reciprocated Rachel's feelings a little bit. After convincing her to be honest with him, she admitted that she had grown to love Rachel, but couldn't bring herself to make a move, considering she felt that Rachel was still too "vulnerable" and it wouldn't feel right. Jon merely laughed, told her that "Rachel's a complicated little bird, but definitely not vulnerable", and told her to make her move, for she was waiting. After agreeing, he handed her a soma inhaler (kept on his person for "state business") and told her that the officer's quarters' Trotskaya had granted to him was theirs, since they didn't need to "keep the whole damn ship awake, whenever ya get to that level". wip; more will be fleshed out with the RP Physical Characteristics Harper is an attractive, fair-skinned woman of medium height and lean build and sporting deep hazel eyes. Since she adheres to the Telepathic school of Ardavian psionics, she also has a Lunarian-designed scanner implanted along the left side of her face, causing it to visibly glow under her skin when using her psychic power. She is missing her left arm, which was intentionally removed during her basic training after it was discovered that the psychic energy had "clogged" inside her mind because her body had trouble projecting the psionic waves. Instead, she sports an advanced, custom-built cybernetic replacement imported from the New Frenco Empire fitted with the psionic exhibitors necessary to project power correctly. Due to Ardavian stigmas against cybernetic augmentation, she often wears a custom-fitted synthskin graft over it, concealing the limb when heavy use of her psionic power isn't necessary. However, after some time on the Polunochnaya, she can be seen without it more often than not, considering she was surrounded by the aptly-named Mecharussians and tolerant Frenks. Since she hails from the Ardavian mainland of Antarctica, she has British ancestry, and speaks with a notable accent. Personality Practically embodying the stereotype of the stiff upper lip, Harper is terminally unflappable and has a certain tendency for understating things (often referring to people trying to kill her as "not very nice", or to artillery fire as "a bit noisy", for example). However, she is also a very helpful person, often seeking to help people who she perceives as needing it. Though often dry and sarcastic, she remains very considerate and light-hearted. However, this hides her lonely, morose side, which often only comes out when under the influence of alcohol. Despite that, her cheery, outgoing, helpful nature is considered a perfect contrast to Rachel Enns, who is introverted, laconic, and gloomy; this is what initially drew them together. After some time together, Harper's influence has allowed Rachel to become slightly more outgoing and joyful, while Rachel has helped Harper come to terms with her deep-seated depression. Category:Ardavia Category:Characters